In And Out Of A Hat Box
by The-Emerald-TARDIS
Summary: The Doctor finds Donna's hat box in the TARDIS, a trip to the past ensues. First fanfic R & R


The TARDIS moaned and hissed as the Doctor set the co-ordinates to – well, anywhere, it doesn't matter, he had the whole universe to choose from, but he no longer had a reason to go anywhere. He could sit in the TARDIS for the rest of his days, just floating. Nobody would notice, as he had said to Wilfred five minutes earlier, everyone had someone else. Usually, he wouldn't mind, it had always been that way. Travel a bit, show someone the Universe, bit of danger, a lot of running, then, when they felt they had seen enough, he would send them back home again so they can live a normal life, pass on their wisdom to someone else. This time it was different. This time he didn't give a choice. He pushed the the two most important people in the entire universe away from him. Rose Tyler and Donna Noble, his forbidden lover, and his best friend. In his mind he could still see them, Rose's beautiful face staring at his, so hopeful that he would give her what she wanted, what she needed most. The Doctors hearts felt like daggers turning, twisting and ripping at his chest. He wished more than anything else in the universe that it had been him who was left behind. To stay with Rose Tyler in that ginger bread house. To let his other self take Donna home, she_ was _a part of him. However, he knew that even if he did, it would turn out just as painful in the end. All because he has two hearts. An irony that made the Doctor thump his fist on the console. The TARDIS made a high pitched rasping noise, but only the Doctor could really hear her.

"Well what was I supposed to do?! Stay with Rose? Let the other Doctor take Donna home?! He has enough of her in him as it is! He probably would have let her die for all I know." The Doctor was certain that his other self would have done the same thing, but only after a long, stubborn, Donna-like argument.

"I did the right thing." The Doctor almost whined. However in his mind, he continued to see both Donna and Rose's faces.

"_I want to stay!" _

"_But, I came all that way to find you I'm not going back now!" _

Yet both are gone. Both are happy. The TARDIS hissed again before rocking violently. It was angry. So was the Doctor. He stormed out of the console area and down the long winding corridor. Swearing and cursing at bits of cable and abandoned experiments, one regularly large obstacle was a rather large Hat box. The Doctor looked in dismay, while swearing and cursing at a half completed extrapolation device that had caused him a graze on the knee, he had stomped passed his room and ended up five doors down. Five doors down being Donna's room. The anger that had consumed the Doctor vanished, and in its place was a only sadness, a lonely sadness that he had come to know so well yet he could never get used to it. He slowly reached down and picked up the box. It was a lot heavier than he had expected. He dared to peep inside, and was taken aback. Inside was a collection of small bits and pieces that Donna had collected from everywhere they had been. Two halves plus a chain from the Adipose pendants, Three pieces of stone and a gold headpiece from Pompeii, little bits and pieces out of an information pack from the Ood breeding and distribution planet, along with a bit of rubble and one of the pairs of handcuffs, the casing of the fuse panel for the teleport pod from the Sontaran ship -

"How the hell did she get that thing passed me?" He thought out loud.

Naturally, there was no one there to answer him. Frowning he turned his concentration back to the box and its contents. A clump of charcoal and melted plastic with a dried out flower. After a close examination, the Doctor was able to identify it, it was the remains of the little wind up mouse from Messadden, Jenny's home planet. The Doctor flinched. Galifrey was her home planet. Now she is with them.

_A new world._

The Doctor shook his head. He continued once again to rummage through Donna's special box. Some grape stalks from Lady Eddisons mansion, the Doctor couldn't help a gentle laugh, she also had Agatha Christies autograph on a napkin.

"I should have made her pay for that." he commented quietly to himself. By now of course, he had realised that everything had been arranged in perfect chronological order from the moment Donna became a 'passenger' on the TARDIS, and he had just messed it all up.

_'Well' _he thought, '_guess I wouldn't make much of a temp...'_

"_Did I ever tell you, best temp in Chiswick! Hundred words per minute!"_

Shaking the memory from his mind, he started rearranging the contents into order the way Donna had left it. He also came across a Diamond contained in an air tight glass tube, the word _Midnight _was engraved in the glass. He found a few loose bookmarks floating around from The Library, the occasional postcard from various places, some sample sachets of creams and soaps and all those other little bits and pieces that the Doctor never bothered with. Well, naturally, he never really had time for such trivialities! He had the weight of the entire universe on his shoulders he really didn't believe that adding moisturizer was going to make it any lighter. The Doctor placed the lid ever so carefully back on the box, he wondered what he was going to do with it. Surely he could keep it, of course he could, but a better idea came to mind. He ran back to the console room, the TARDIS, cooed into life with a shiver and a shake. Obviously a little happier to serve after seeing the Doctors dramatic mood swing.

The TARDIS materialized in an alleyway somewhere in the south of Chiswick. The Doctor grinned when he realised he was only three blocks away from the Noble residence. Not too far away, but not too close either. It was risky enough letting Donna see him, let alone see or hear the TARDIS, and he most definitely didn't want her to see the box he happened to be carrying. Yes he had rapped it up in a brown paper bag. Just in case he did see her and she recognized the hat box to be the one in which would be missing from her wardrobe, but if he knew Donna, which, as it happens, he did. Then he knew that she would probably be curios of its contents. The problem with that being that souvenirs have a nasty habit of bringing back memories. One thing the Doctor didn't really want to do.

If the Doctor didn't already know where Donna lived, it probably wouldn't make much difference. Donna Noble's voice could be heard from the other end of the street.

"Wot d'you mean _gone_?! Are you saying that he just found a new talent in vanishing acts? Ooh look at me, I'm a walking teleport! Fat lot of good thats gonna do 'im." A stubborn, yet all too familiar voice yelled.

"Oh don't be so daft, Donna!" Her mother hissed. The Doctor was, by then, standing on the front door step listening in on the argument, slightly worried at Donna mentioning the word teleport

'_Is teleport a well known word in the early twenty-first century?' _he thought.

"yeah, cos vanishing is _soo_ clever" Donna commented.

"Oh don't you dare get smart with me young lady, at least I don't go swanning off all over the place like a bloody lunatic and not come home for months on end!" Her mother retorted. Initially, the Doctor had been caught up in the thought of Donna's mother sounding strangely alike that of Rose's mum. However that thought soon left his mind at hearing the latest comment from mother to daughter.

"What?" A slightly confused Donna looked up from the fridge in which she had sub consciously opened while arguing with her picky mother. There was a sudden knock at the door.

'_Could that be Lance?' _She wondered to herself, dismissing her mothers last remark and abandoning the fridge that had failed to offer her an appealing snack, Donna sauntered in the general direction of the front door, but her mother, who was not at any rate taking her time, rushed to the door. A new habit which Donna had found to be a bit strange.

'_What _is _her problem?' _she thought. _'She never lets me answer the door anymore, as if she's scared the boogyman might get me, ever since that John bloke came round, maybe she fancies him! What is it with her and scrawny_-

"Silviaaaa!" a very enthusiastic voice cried from the front door, "Hello! Would say long time no see, but really it doesn't seem all that long..." the voice trailed off.

By now, Donna had reached the front door, and sure enough, it was that man again.

"Ah, Donna! Nice to see you again, um, would Wilfred be around? I'm in a bit of a hurry I'm afraid, can't stick around!"

"Yeah, he's-" Donna paused, a headache suddenly springing into life, along with other things in her mind, tiny little whispers, like the ones she sometimes had in her dreams.

"Sorry, he's um... up on the hill, got a little set up there." Shaking her head to try and clear her thoughts but regretting instantly as her now migraine raged.

"Are you alright?" The man said, a look of concern on his face.

"Yeah" Donna replied, pulling the most reassuring temp-smile she could muster.

"Just a bit tired, I'm going to bed." she announced before walking away.

The Doctor turned back to face Silvia with a 'you better have a good explanation for cocking up like that' expression on his face. This, to the Doctors great surprise, was all it took, as Silvia broke down almost pleading for forgivness.

"Oh Doctor, you have no idea how hard it's been, trying to lie to her about a whole two years! As far as she's concerned, she's still engaged to Lance and working at that HC Clements. How am I supposed to make up a story about the past two years?!" She whined,

"Yes, yes I know!" The Doctor hissed. "Look, I'm sorry, but there is nothing I can do, I'm risking too much being here now, thats why she had to go to bed, I'm hurting her by letting her see me, tiny little scraps of information are still floating around in her head, whispers, playing with her dreams, but when she sees me, her mind tries to make a connection between the whispers and reality, thats what the mind does, it's like Deja Vu. But if it clicks, if she remembers, she will die. That is why I can't risk seeing her again." The Doctor explained rapidly.

"Well if that's the case, then what the bloody hell are you doing on _my_ door step?" Silvia demanded.

"I told you, I came to see Wilfred!" The Doctor whined pathetically.


End file.
